10 - In 1881, the Shootout at the O.K. Corral took place, spawning over 200 Western movies starring everyone from The Marx Brothers to Kevin Costner. Groucho Marx as Wyatt Earp? Hmmm.....
9 - Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicks over a lantern, starting the 1871 Great Fire of Chicago, and coincidentally, also marks the invention of the barbequed steak.
8 - John Lennon was born in Liverpool, England in 1940.
7 - In 54 A.D., Roman Emperor Claudius died after eating poisonous mushrooms prepared for him by his wife, the Empress Agrippina.
6 - 1871, Thomas Edison successfully tested the world's first electric incandescent light bulb.
5 - Ninety members of the Donner party departed Illinois in 1846, headed for California. Amazingly, there were 48 survivors of the horrific sinter in the Sierras.
4 - The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in 1886. A gift from the people of France to commemorate the French-American alliance during the revolutionry War.
3 - In 1938 Orson Wells radio broadcast of 'The War of the Worlds' panicked millions of Americans who believed the Martain invasion was real.
2 - Queen Marie Antoinette was beheaded following the French Revolution. The wife of King Louis XVI had become the symbol of everything in the French Monarchy.
1 - An ancient traditional celebration combining the Christian festival of All Saints with the Pagan autumn festivals becomes the most fun October day of all - Halloween!
Happy Haunting!
Ruth Ann